


merlin has a cat

by yeehaw_heehaw



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-09
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-08-13 11:48:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20173759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeehaw_heehaw/pseuds/yeehaw_heehaw
Summary: merlin finds a kitten. arthur secretly has a soft spot for cats





	1. Chapter 1

The downpour was the worst of the year so far. The streets of Camelot were too slippery to walk on, and all of the people of Camelot had enough sense to stay inside rather than try to brave the storm. Well – all but one.

Merlin had been putting off gathering herbs for Gaius for several days, but this morning he decided he’d finally do what he was meant to do. The clouds were already darkening when he set out for the forest, and so Merlin made a mental note to make the trip a quick one.

This wasn’t what happened.

The rain started sooner than Merlin expected, and despite his hasty departure from the forest, by the time he made it back to the citadel, the rain was much heavier and Merlin was soaked to the bone. No amount of magic could keep him warm from the onslaught of rain, and he wasn’t about to cast a shield around himself while in the center of Camelot. The best he could do for the herbs was keep the basket hidden under his jacket.

Once he was in the lower town, trying his best not to slip, he chose to duck under the roof of a stall for a moment of peace. Merlin shook the water out of his hair, even still knowing that it would be useless, and dragged his free hand up and down his arm in a pitiful attempt to warm himself up. He cringed when his boots sunk lower into the mud under him.

“Mr-r-r-r…”

Merlin’s head shot up and he whipped his head left and right. It was a gentle, quiet sound, but he was sure it wasn’t his imagination. When he didn’t find what was responsible for the noise, he leant over the counter to check there.

It was there that he found what had made the noise. A tiny kitten, almost unseeable with its fur coated in mud, was huddled against the counter. Merlin made an indignant noise and moved over to the other side of the counter. He was quick to take off his neckerchief, which had been protected by his jacket and still mostly dry. He gently picked up the shivering creature, who let out a soft “mrr” in response, and wrapped his neckerchief snugly around the cat. The cat was placed in Merlin’s herb basket, and Merlin also took off his jacket to make a temporary roof over the basket.

Merlin hesitated only for a moment before he went back out into the rain.

*

“Merlin, just in time for supper-“ Gaius looked up from the table. He took in Merlin’s appearance, and the Eyebrow of Disapproval arched up. “Did you go out in that rain? With no jacket? You’re dripping all over my floor!”

“Herbs-s,” Merlin managed to say through his chattering teeth.

Gaius took the basket out of Merlin’s grasp and set it on the table. “Go get dressed in warmer clothes, my boy. There’s hot soup here for dinner once you get changed.”

“Wait, Gaius,” Merlin started, but Gaius had already ushered him into his room and returned to the dinner table.

He dressed as quick as he could, and then sat down for dinner wearing his sleep clothes and the blanket from his bed around his shoulders. Merlin opened the basket and picked up the tiny kitten, who emitted a soft “meow”. As he cradled her close to him, Merlin used his already dirty neckerchief to wipe the mud off her fur.

He looked up at Gaius, who was wearing a stern expression, and Merlin started speaking before Gaius could. “I’ll look after her, and feed her, and keep her out of your way. I couldn’t leave her out there, Gaius.”

Gaius looked at the kitten, who was purring contentedly in Merlin’s arms, and nodded once. “Make sure you keep her away from my shelves. It wouldn’t do for the poor thing to accidentally knock over my bottle of hemlock.”

Merlin smiled and wrapped part of his blanket around the kitten.

*

Once Merlin had washed the mud away from her fur, he discovered that the kitten’s fur was mostly black, with white fur covering only her paws.

The kitten, now aptly named Stormy, took to life in the citadel well. Stormy was a social creature, and vied for attention constantly. The servants and knights alike looked forward to when Merlin would bring her along as he completed his chores.

It was on a particularly uninteresting morning, so Merlin thought, that Arthur met her for the first time.

Arthur had returned to his chambers after a council meeting, and stopped in his tracks in front of his bed.

“Merlin,” he said, “What is that?”

Merlin looked over to where Stormy was curled around herself on the center of Arthur’s bed.

“You’ve never seen a cat?”

“I know  _ what _ it is. I want to know what it’s doing here, on  _ my _ bed.”

“ _ She  _ is helping me work. Stormy doesn’t like being confined to one room by herself for too long, so I bring her with me.”

“What sort of name is  _ Stormy _ ?”

“Don’t insult her!” Merlin said, outraged on behalf of the kitten. “I found her during the storm a few days ago. She lives with me now.”

“Ah, I should have known,” Arthur said, lightly running his finger over one of her ears. Stormy’s ear twitched, but otherwise she remained still. “She’s got the ears to match.”

Merlin chose not to reply to his comment. “Just ignore her, she won’t cause any trouble.”

As he said this, Stormy got up and began to scratch the bedpost nearest to her.

“No- Merlin!” Arthur picked Stormy up around her middle, causing her forelegs to stretch out in front of her, and held her out to Merlin. “Take her out.”

Merlin took Stormy from Arthur and held her in a more comfortable position. “ _ Mostly  _ won’t cause any trouble,” he mumbled.

He made to leave, turning towards the door and taking a step forward, but in the next blink of an eye the weight in Merlin’s arms was gone and the cat had disappeared into thin air.

Merlin, for a moment, wondered if he’d involuntarily sent the cat away with his magic. Nevermind that he hadn’t accidentally done magic since he was a teenager in Ealdor, or that he didn’t feel the usual rush of comforting warmth when he did use his magic.

“What did you do?”

Merlin looked back at Arthur, who was meeting Merlin’s state with a look of disbelief, bordering on outrage.

“What makes you think I did anything? How could I have done something?”

“Cats don’t normally  _ disappear _ , Merlin!”

He was saved from replying by the sound of scratching. Merlin and Arthur stared at each for a moment more before turning to the noise.

There Stormy was, scratching the same post of Arthur’s bed again.

Deciding the bedpost was sufficiently scratched, she then leapt off the bed. Stormy disappeared once more, then reappeared on Arthur’s desk to settle down and bask in the sunlight coming through the window.

Merlin sat down in the chair nearest to him before he could fall over. Arthur did the same.

“What did you say about causing no trouble?”


	2. Chapter 2

“Gaius? Gaius!”

Gaius raised the Eyebrow as Arthur and Merlin came crashing through his door. At the same time, Stormy came walking down the stairs from Merlin’s room.

“Gaius-“

“Let me do the talking. Gaius-“

“No, she’s  _ my _ cat-“

“And I’m the  _ king _ , if it hadn’t escaped your notice-“

“Boys!”

They both quiet.

“Now tell me,  _ calmly _ , what it is you want to say.”

Merlin beat Arthur to it. “Stormy has magic.”

Arthur flicks Merlin’s ear. Merlin swats his hand away.

Gaius remained quiet for a moment before he began to speak. “It is quite rare, but it’s not impossible for a cat to possess magical abilities.”

“Really?” Merlin says, “I never knew that.”

“And what would you know about magic,  _ Merlin _ ?”

“ _ Ahem _ . As I was saying; such creatures are also able to form powerful bonds with sorcerers. They will assist and protect the sorcerer they have chosen.”

Gaius’ eyes slide over to Merlin, then back to Arthur.

“The only matter now is, sire, for you to decide what to do.”

“What to do?” Arthur echoes.

“The cat has magic, and the law clearly state that any being with magic is to die. Your father’s law does not necessarily specify  _ human _ beings with magic, sire.”

Merlin looks Arthur, who looks back at him. Gaius’ Eyebrow has nearly disappeared into his hairline.

Merlin watches as Arthur looks to Stormy, who had made herself comfortable in front of the fire and was snoozing happily. Arthur opened his mouth to speak, but he didn’t say anything.

“Sire?”

“Arthur?”

Arthur looks at Merlin and rolls his eyes. “Yes, fine, you can keep the cat! Do  _ not  _ let it get into any trouble, or I’ll have you in the stocks for the rest of your life.”

Merlin sends a bright grin Arthur’s way. He was too gleeful to care to address Arthur’s last comment.

Maybe it’s his imagination, but Merlin thinks he sees the side of Arthur’s lips nearly turn up into a smile in response.

Arthur coughs and looks away from Merlin. “Well. The cat hasn’t done any harm yet, so. Better it remains with someone who isn’t a powerful sorcerer, isn’t it?”

*

To Merlin’s happiness, Stormy wasn’t much harder to handle with her magic. For the most part, as Gaius had told him and Arthur, she assisted Merlin with his tasks without causing too much trouble. He discovered she had a knack for being able to find the herbs he needed, and what usually took several hours was now reduced to only one.

Unfortunately though, since her meeting Arthur, taking care of Stormy wasn’t entirely fine and dandy. She had developed the tendency to try to bring Merlin to Arthur whenever they were apart.

Merlin mentioned this to Gaius, one day.

“I don’t understand why she keeps trying to take me to him. If she wants to see Arthur so bad, she could just teleport herself to him. Not like she has to hide her magic from him,” he mutters.

As he speaks, Stormy bites the buckle on Merlin’s boot and attempts to tug him towards the door by it. Merlin picks her up to save his boot buckle from destruction.

Gaius was sitting at the table with a book about deadly poisons and their symptoms. He doesn’t look away from it as he replies, “One can only guess, Merlin.”

“Why do you look like you’re going to laugh?”

“This book is particularly humorful.”

Merlin sighs and sets Stormy down onto the floor. “I suppose I should go see Arthur now. Probably has more laundry for me to do.”

Stormy runs to the door to wait in front of it.

*

Arthur doesn’t like cats. He doesn’t. The only thing good they’re for is when it comes to catching mice, and certainly not for being kept as a pet.

Of course, this didn’t stop Arthur from feeling all soft and mushy when he watched Merlin speak to his cat in a soft voice, calling Stormy all sort of overly obnoxious names (including but definitely,  _ unfortunately _ , not limited to: Fuzzykins and Ms. Mittens). Nor did it stop Arthur from wanting to cry over the sheer amount of adorableness from the way that, if Merlin were to hold his arm up at a right angle, Stormy would climb up to sit on his shoulder and rub her head against Merlin’s cheek.

And maybe, sometimes, Arthur feels a  _ tiny  _ ounce of affection towards Stormy and he’ll scratch her under her chin while marveling at the softness of her fur. He is only human, after all. But Arthur would sooner die than admit to anyone that he didn’t find Stormy as awful as he claimed.

If Merlin found out, the smug idiot would only rub Arthur’s weakness in his face.

*

It didn’t take Merlin long to find out.

After making his usual stop in the kitchen first thing, he was on his way to Arthur’s chambers to wake the king up. Stormy had disappeared before Merlin had left his room, presumably to go ahead of him. Merlin had added extra bacon to Arthur’s plate of food in case.

When Merlin gets to Arthur’s rooms, he sets the plate down on the table and rounds Arthur’s desk to move back the curtains. Now with the room bathed in sunlight, Merlin notices something that he didn’t before: the tiny lump of black fur lying next to Arthur’s prone form.

Stormy was curled around herself, in the usual position that she slept in, on Arthur’s pillow. Arthur’s face was pressed into the soft fur of her back. Merlin wonders if Arthur can breathe well like that, but Arthur seems comfortable enough.

Merlin’s unable to dampen the bright grin that takes over his face. Despite being on time for once, he decides to let Arthur sleep in, because he’s never seen Arthur appear so affectionate.

He goes about the room doing small jobs - sorting loose parchments, sorting Arthur’s clothing, dusting - until he hears Arthur shifting. Merlin looks over. Arthur’s wide awake, still lying down as he lifts his arm to pet Stormy. Stormy lets out a tiny purr as she wakes up, which has Arthur smiling. It’s a rare type of smile from Arthur; soft and unguarded.

Merlin coughs, once, and Arthur nearly falls off his bed with how he jumps. Stormy stands, stretches, and then jumps off Arthur’s bed to go to Merlin.

“Good morning, sire!” 

“Merlin,” Arthur replies, voice still rough from sleep.

“Arthur.”

“You’re not to tell anyone about this. I have a reputation to uphold.”

“Tell anyone about..?” Merlin squints his eyes at Arthur, relishing in the way Arthur waves his hands around, unable to finish Merlin’s sentence.

“That the all powerful King of Camelot…” Merlin taps his finger against his chin as he pretends to ponder, “... is a big ol’ softy? That you find small, fluffy animals cute?”

Arthur reaches behind himself to grab onto one of his pillows. Merlin catches it before it can connect with his face, and he throws it right back at Arthur.

“I don’t find anything  _ cute _ ,” Arthur grits out, throwing his duvet back and climbing out of bed.

Merlin picks Stormy up from where she was walking around his legs. He pouts at Arthur. “Arthur, look at her. She’s the cutest thing in the world. Look at her. You can’t resist her cuteness.”

Arthur’s eyes flicker back and forth between Merlin and Stormy, who, indeed, did look very cute. And undeniably smug, as if she knew what Merlin was saying. He looked away in a hopeless attempt to hide the smile that appeared without his permission.

“Knew it!”

Arthur points his finger in Merlin’s face. “Do not tell anyone,” he says again. Stormy wiggles her way out of Merlin’s arms to go inspect Arthur’s breakfast.

“You know, I think the knights would love to know-“

“ _ Merlin _ . You wouldn’t want me to spill any of your secrets, would you?”

“What secrets? I’m an open book, sire,” Merlin says, looking the picture of innocence.

Arthur only watches him for several moments, and then he moves, slowly, as close as he can to Merlin without touching him. “I don’t quite believe that,” he says, breath hitting Merlin’s lips as he spoke.

Merlin, dizzy from Arthur’s sudden closeness, promptly replies, “Uh.”

He doesn’t know who leaned in first, but Merlin doesn’t care to dwell on it as he moves his lips against Arthur’s. Merlin discontentedly huffs out a breath of air as Arthur moves away, far too quickly for his liking.

“I swear, Merlin, if you even  _ try _ to call me any mushy names like you do with Stormy, this is over.”

Merlin grins. “You mean, like honeybunch? Sugar plum? Light of my life?”

“Merlin?”

“Yes?”

“Shut up.”

“ _ Make _ m-mmph.”

Arthur, way ahead of Merlin, had swiftly moved forward to capture Merlin’s lips with his own, successfully shutting Merlin up.

Over on the table, Stormy watches them, wearing her familiar, smug look. It was her task to help the oblivious sorcerer, and it was a job well done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> word

**Author's Note:**

> started this a few weeks ago, found out it was world cat day, had a crisis about completing this, remembered multiple chapters were a thing!


End file.
